Water Pollution in brief

Water pollution is a physical, chemical, biological or bacteriological degradation of its natural qualities caused by man and his activities. Water pollution is caused by the discharge of dirty water through our domestic activities (washing and cleaning, evacuation of urine and faeces, etc.), but also by the various industrial and agricultural activities needed to provide food and goods we need. We all know the famous quote that states that ?Water is life?, each day we produce at least some sort of water pollution this can be of various ways, this goes a long way to destroy the blue gold and will expose us to many dangers.

Cameroon in terms of water ressource

The territory of Cameroon is divided into five watersheds: Chad, Niger, Congo, Sanaga and Atlantic coast. The river Sanaga, which flows from the center to the ocean, constitutes the hydrographic axis of the country. Several shorter rivers flow directly into the ocean: Nyong, Wouri, Mungo and Ntem. In the north of the country, the rivers have an extremely variable but generally flow low The most important are the Benue and the Logone.

Water residuals

Cameroon has an estimated 9.2 million habitats, estimated in 1983. Presently, there are practically no sewerage networks, with rare exceptions in the newly constructed areas of Yaoundé and Douala. These two cities, with a population of about 0.5 and 0.6 million, produce waste water with a BOD load of 11,700 tonnes and 14,000 tonnes per year respectively. In Douala, the Wouri estuary is considered a polluted area, but quantative data are not available for that. In Yaoundé, some sewage treatment plants are already in use (for example the Congress palace).

Industrial effluents

In Cameroon, as in most African countries, there are a number of industries, such as breweries, sugar factories, food processing and processing plants, and tanneries, which evacuate large quantities of organic waste. In Mbandjock and Nkoteng where a sugar industry is found, evacuate their waste directly into the Sanaga, without any treatment. The tannery of Ngaounderé and the breweries of Bafoussam, Yaoundé and Douala also dump their waste directly into the rivers.

Regulation

Cameroon does not have specific legislation on environmental protection, but in a number of sectors a number of texts and regulations deal with environmental issues.

There are several point sources of industrial pollution in Cameroon but, if we consider the country as a whole, the main problems of water pollution appear mainly due to the absence of sewerage networks, Construction is planned in most major cities.

Sources

http://www.explainthatstuff.com/waterpollution.html

FAO